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Details surrounding the slaying of 6-year-old Kingston Frazier are starting to crystalize after false statements from the Hinds County sheriff led to rampant rumors and accusations of involvement by the child's family.

Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason said at a Thursday news conference that Kingston's mother, Ebony Archie, exited the Kroger on I-55 in Jackson at 2:30 a.m. and reported to a deputy on duty at the grocery store that her car was stolen but did not mention her son was in the car until later.

"When we found out later that there was a child in the back, we immediately notified the Highway Patrol (who) put out an Amber Alert," Mason said.

However, Jackson Police Department Cmdr. Tyree Jones said Friday that JPD received a call at 1:28 a.m. "to assist Hinds County with an auto theft and child abduction in the Kroger parking lot." Jones said multiple officers responded, with the first officer arriving on scene at 1:32 a.m.

Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, said his agency was not notified about a missing child until approximately 2:45 a.m. He did not know why it took more than an hour for the sheriff's office to contact them.

When reached Friday and asked about the time disparity, Mason departed from his Thursday comment and said the initial call came in around 1:30 a.m.

In an attempt to clarify, he then said, "The Amber Alert and all that got started at 2:30."

Strain said MBI received the final piece of information for the Amber Alert to MBI at 4:06 a.m. The alert was issued 22 minutes later at 4:28 a.m., Strain said.

Strain said the time between the first notification and the last of the paperwork being filed is understandable because of the steps required. Agencies requesting an Amber Alert have to fill out a form, get a department supervisor's signature, enter the case into the National Crime Information Center database and provide a color photo.

Mason said part of the delay was due to trouble getting information about the car. Archie told authorities the car was not in her name because it had been bought from another person.

“These people bought the car from someone else, so the car was not registered to them. We had to get the information about the car,” Mason said. “The lady couldn’t tell us nothing because the car wasn’t registered to her. We had to take time to figure out the license number and serial number and everything.”

Mason could not provide details about his statements that Archie did not immediately tell the deputy her son was in the car. He said he would have to check with the supervisor who had been on duty to get that information, despite having said it Thursday.

Archie's aunt, Velma Eddington, disputed that law enforcement was not notified immediately that Kingston was in the stolen car.

"She told (the deputy) right then that the car was missing and her baby was in it,” Eddington said. “Why would she be concerned about an old car? Anybody who says she didn’t say the baby was missing is wrong."

Eddington said Archie had been out with cousins and friends to celebrate her birthday, which was on Tuesday. Archie picked up Kingston from Eddington's granddaughter, who was babysitting the 6-year-old.

According to Eddington, Archie said she saw a deputy outside Kroger when she went in. When she came out and found her car missing, she started frantically searching for the deputy, found him and told him her car and child had been taken.

Eddington said Archie told family members the deputy at first did not appear either to hear her or to be concerned that the child had been taken.

“Ebony said the man did not listen to her. He could have probably just followed the car right then and her baby wouldn’t be dead,” Eddington said. “She said he told her he had to follow protocol.”

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Byron McBride Jr is the third suspect taken into custody in the Kingston Frazier case.
Therese Apel

Eddington said Archie called her mom sometime after 1 a.m. Archie's mother called Eddington.

“She said somebody’s stole the car and Kingston’s in the car,” Eddington said. “We had been out (her and Archie’s mother) and hadn’t been home too long. I hadn’t even taken off my clothes. We went up to Kroger’s. It was sometime after 1 (a.m.).”

Madison-Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest said an exact timeline of the incident was not immediately available, citing an ongoing investigation.

"So many different agencies are working on this, I do not have a good clear timeline at this point as to when all these events occurred," Guest said.

MBI said internet rumors claiming it was an accidental shooting or that other people were involved are false.

"It’s rumor and speculation, conjecture. Do not put any stock in what you're seeing in social media. The investigation is early on, and what is being put out on social media is untrue and not factual," Strain said.

Strain said Friday authorities are "confident" the three teens arrested for Kingston's murder are those responsible.

Dwan Diondro Wakefield, 17, of Ridgeland; DeAllen Washington, 17; and Bryon McBride Jr., 19, both of Jackson, have been charged with capital murder. Authorities identified McBride as the shooter.

Each is in the Madison County Detention Center and will appear Monday in Madison County Justice Court for an initial appearance. Guest said he will request that bond be denied for all three.

None of the three suspects has any prior convictions, Guest said, but Washington was out on bond on an armed robbery charge in Madison County. He has a June court date for that charge, Guest said.

Guest also said a motive in Kingston's death is unknown.

"Other than it just being somebody being mean and evil and cruel, I’m not seeing a motive being developed as to why these individuals would have killed this child," Guest said. "That’s probably something we’ll never get. We’ll probably never learn a motive as to why this occurred."

Kingston's body was discovered at approximately 9:30 a.m. Thursday on Gluckstadt Road in Madison County. Madison County deputies responded to the area after someone who was familiar with the Amber Alert recognized the car, Guest said.

Heath Hall, spokesman for the Madison County Sheriff's Department, referred all questions regarding the investigation to Strain.

Guest said the evidence points to the fact Kingston was shot in the back of the car.

"We do believe he was shot in the back of the car," Guest said. "Whether he was asleep or awake, I don't have any idea."

A time of death was not yet known.

Guest said Kingston was "most definitely" alive when his mother's car was stolen. Archie is not a suspect and was not involved in Kingston's murder, Guest said.

"I have absolutely no evidence to indicate that she had any involvement," he said. "There’s nothing that would indicate, to me, that she was aware or that she participated in the abduction and death of her child."

Authorities are unaware of any connection between Archie and those accused of killing her son.

"I’ve heard nothing of the last 24 hours to indicate there was any friendship or relationship between the three that are in custody and the child’s mother," Guest said.

As the investigation continues, authorities are still searching for answers.

Guest said Kington's murder was a "needless, senseless death that could have been avoided."

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Martin Archie carries the grief stricken Ebony Archie, mother to Kingston Frazier, 6, down stairs after learning her son, Kingston, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Martin Archie carries the grief stricken Ebony Archie, mother to Kingston Frazier, 6, after learning her son, Kingston, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Walter Williams reacts to the news that his grandson Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members react after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members Martin Archie, left, comforts Ruby Archie, after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members react after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members react after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members react after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

Family members react after learning that Kingston Frazier, 6, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger

A procession of law enforcement vehicles follow a Mississippi Highway Patrol tow truck hauling away a vehicle from a dead end road in Gluckstadt, Miss., Thursday morning, May 18, 2017, where 6-year-old Kingston Frazier was shot to death after the car he was riding in was stolen early, from a grocery store parking lot in Jackson. Rogelio V. Solis, AP

A stuffed animal and balloon tribute for Kingston Frazier, a 6-year-old boy who was found shot dead Thursday, in his mother's stolen car along a no-outlet road in Gluckstadt, Miss., is tied to a small tree adjacent to an area where the vehicle was allegedly removed, Friday, May 19, 2018. Three individuals have been arrested for the death and will have an initial appearance before a judge Monday. Rogelio V. Solis/ AP